{"id":44796,"date":"2024-03-09T15:30:25","date_gmt":"2024-03-09T21:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/?p=44796"},"modified":"2024-03-12T07:53:26","modified_gmt":"2024-03-12T12:53:26","slug":"nascar-saturday-phoenix-notebook-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/2024\/03\/09\/nascar-saturday-phoenix-notebook-5\/","title":{"rendered":"NASCAR: Saturday Phoenix Notebook"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer<\/em><\/p>\n

NASCAR Wire Service <\/em><\/p>\n

Denny Hamlin leads front-row sweep at Phoenix for Joe Gibbs Racing<\/b><\/p>\n

AVONDALE, Ariz.\u2014Denny Hamlin was convinced he had to improve his performance at Phoenix Raceway, and on Saturday afternoon, he took the first step in that direction.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Mavis Brakes Plus Toyota, poses for photos after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 09, 2024 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Touring the one-mile track in 27.138 seconds (132.655 seconds) in the final round of qualifying, Hamlin put his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota on the pole for Sunday\u2019s Shriners Children\u2019s 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

Hamlin, who hasn\u2019t won at Phoenix since 2019, beat JGR teammate Ty Gibbs (132.227 mph) by 0.088 seconds for the top starting spot in the fourth NASCAR Cup Series event of the season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really trying to get better at this place,\u201d Hamlin said after securing his first Busch Light Pole Award of the season, his third at Phoenix and the 41st of his career, 13th-most all-time.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we want to make a run at a championship\u2014and you\u2019ve got to win it through Phoenix\u2014you\u2019ve got to get better at Phoenix.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pole position was the 150th for Toyota in the Cup Series, with Hamlin accounting for 36 of those. His first five poles came in Chevrolets, before Joe Gibbs Racing switched to Toyota. Included in that group of five was Hamlin\u2019s first career pole, at Phoenix in 2005.<\/p>\n

Unlike the rest of his final-round competitors, who made sharp cuts across the frontstretch dogleg, Hamlin took a more conservative approach and benefitted from a more favorable angle into Turn 1 on his money lap.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Denny Hamlin, driver of the #11 Mavis Brakes Plus Toyota, signs the Busch Light Pole Award backdrop after winning the pole award during qualifying for the NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 09, 2024 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Chris Graythen\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI was kind of 50-50 on it,\u201d Hamlin explained. \u201cI didn\u2019t cut it in the first round, but we consistently saw that I was about a half-car-length behind entering Turn 1, but my angle was better.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a very indecisive decision\u2014\u2018OK, I won\u2019t go all the way, but I won\u2019t stay where I was,\u2019 and it netted out in a good position where I was able to cut a little bit but also keep my angle into Turn 1.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chase Elliott (132.144 mph), winless since the fall Talladega race in 2022, qualified third in his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, followed by Toyota drivers Erik Jones and DAYTONA 500 winner William Byron.<\/p>\n

Tyler Reddick was sixth fastest, ahead of Noah Gragson in the top Ford, Chase Briscoe, Michael McDowell and Sunoco rookie Carson Hocevar.<\/p>\n

Hamlin\u2019s pole-winning run broke a streak of three straight poles to open the season by Ford drivers.<\/p>\n

Mixed reactions to new NASCAR Cup short-track competition package<\/b><\/p>\n

During a 50-minute practice session on Friday afternoon at Phoenix Raceway, NASCAR Cup Series drivers tried to fine-tune the short-track competition package they will race for the first time in Sunday\u2019s Shriners Children\u2019s 500 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).<\/p>\n

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Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, meets with crew members in the garage area during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 08, 2024 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

The practice produced a wide range of reactions across the spectrum of competitors.<\/p>\n

Joey Logano enjoyed the experience, and not just because he topped the speed chart during the session.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford Mustang is fast,\u201d Logano said. \u201cThat always makes it fun. Definitely a lot of slipping and sliding as the tires fall off. This track has become more and more racey, and it\u2019s widening out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe \u2018old\u2019 Phoenix from years and years ago is starting to come back. This package seems to be a little bit more in that direction, as there\u2019s less downforce and a little bit more off-throttle time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

Joey Logano, driver of the #22 Hunt Brothers Pizza Ford, drives during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series Shriners Children’s 500 at Phoenix Raceway on March 08, 2024 in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by Meg Oliphant\/Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n

Though Denny Hamlin brought a radically different setup from years past to a track where he has struggled in race trim, he felt the new package\u2014which features a smaller, simplified diffuser, a reduced number of underbody strakes and a taller spoiler\u2014was a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is going to be a very, very small change,\u201d said Hamlin, who was second fastest in the practice session. \u201cBut anything that can allow us to run closer together, cross each other\u2019s wake without the air blocking we have seen over the last few weeks, that will be a good thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I certainly think that this package, (and) this (new Goodyear) tire is heading in the right direction. It\u2019s not all the way there, but it\u2019s certainly heading there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin Truex Jr. said the car didn\u2019t feel different from the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota he drove last November. Chase Elliott had a similar opinion.<\/p>\n

\u201cI forgot they did anything until they started talking about it afterwards,\u201d said the 2020 Cup champion, who was seventh on the speed chart in the fastest Chevrolet. \u201cI don\u2019t see it really changing a whole lot. I could be totally wrong, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to change much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kyle Busch\u2019s pit crew woes bring shakeup to over-the-wall gang<\/b><\/p>\n

Three races into the NASCAR Cup Series season, the performance of Kyle Busch\u2019s pit crew hasn\u2019t matched the two-time champion\u2019s prowess on the track.<\/p>\n

Following pit road mistakes that cost Busch dearly last Sunday at Las Vegas, Richard Childress Racing made wholesale changes to the over-the-wall crew on the No. 8 Chevrolet.<\/p>\n

Shiloh Windsor replaces Michael Russell as front tire changer, Michael Johnson takes Chris Jackson\u2019s spot as rear tire changer, and Doug Warwick replaces Garrett Crall as jack man. All three new crew members are full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, on the cars of Anthony Alfredo, Austin Hill and Parker Kligerman, respectively.<\/p>\n

All three also will continue in their Xfinity Series roles. The tire changers will have to adapt to single-lug Cup cars from the Xfinity cars, which still use five lugs per wheel.<\/p>\n

You can forgive Busch if he isn\u2019t thoroughly familiar with the circumstances of the changes. Warwick will be the third jack man on the car in four races this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have any idea of where guys are coming from, what their background is or what their experience is,\u201d Busch said before Friday\u2019s practice at Phoenix.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always just kind of assume that the Cup guys were the Xfinity guys, so news to me. We\u2019ll find out how good they are come around 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last Sunday, Busch slid though his pit box as the tried to compensate for the pit crew\u2019s performance. Because the crew serviced the car with the splitter barely over the line, he was penalized for pitting outside the box and relegated to a 26th-place finish.<\/p>\n

Statistics point to scintillating racing to start 2024 season<\/b><\/p>\n

In some cases, statistics can be deceptive\u2014but not when it comes to the qualify of racing on display in the first three NASCAR Cup Series races of the season.<\/p>\n

The average margin of victory so far is 0.222 seconds, fourth closest in that category since the advent of electronic timing and scoring in 1993 and just behind the series record of 0.136 seconds through three races in 2022.<\/p>\n

Foremost among the close races was the Cup Series event at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where winner Daniel Suarez and runner-up Ryan Blaney were separated buy 0.003 seconds at the finish line.<\/p>\n

It was the third closest finish in series history, and with third-place Kyle Busch just 0.007 seconds behind the winner, it also stands as the closest finish among three cars in the history of auto racing.<\/p>\n

Other important milestones include a record 407 green-flag passes for the lead through three races (based on loop data that debuted in 2005), obliterating the previous mark of 302 set in 2022.<\/p>\n

Overall, the young season has produced 23,027 green-flag passes, surpassing the mark of 21,245  set last year. A total of 28 different drivers have led races in 2024, the second largest number in the Modern Era (1972-2024). Only 2011 had more (32).<\/p>\n

The average number of lead changes per race is 37.7, second in the Modern Era to 2011, which average 41.0 through three events.<\/p>\n

The NASCAR Cup Series has produced three different point standings leaders in the first three races of the season for the first time since 2017.<\/p>\n

The bottom line is that the first three races of 2024 have produced compelling racing, as increased fan interest and television ratings will attest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Reid Spencer NASCAR Wire Service  Denny Hamlin leads front-row sweep at Phoenix for Joe Gibbs Racing AVONDALE, Ariz.\u2014Denny Hamlin was convinced he had to improve his performance at Phoenix Raceway, and on Saturday afternoon, he took the first step in that direction. Touring the one-mile track in 27.138 seconds (132.655 seconds) in the final […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":676,"featured_media":44805,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[16,395],"class_list":["post-44796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nascar","tag-nascar","tag-phoenix-raceway"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/racedaysa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/GettyImages-2069510712-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7hzTZ-bEw","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/676"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44796"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44818,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44796\/revisions\/44818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/racedaysa.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}